B7971

[Wo Tu]

I sorted out my collection of tubes and was surprised , how much B7971 I own.

Would like to sell some of these tubes. What do you think is a fair price for one tube , or for six tubes ?

[gregebert]

If you dont already have a clock or other device with 7971's, I suggest you make one. Even though these tubes are a bit ugly, they are so enormous and versatile that you will be pleased with it. And keep a few spares. I built an 8-tube clock with 7971's a few years ago and I still like it, and wish I had time to add more features via software (it's RasPi based, so I'm limited only by time and creativity).

If you decide to sell, I've seen a lot of these being sold on Ebay for well over 100 USD, especially if you can show they are tested. You probably already have several messages from other neonixie members who want to buy some.

[Wo Tu]

I‘ve built 2 clocks using B7971. But now I dont have space for more. 

[Nicholas Stock]

They're currently going for anywhere from 160 to 200 dollars on eBay. Pictures of them being tested will help. Too rich for my blood at the moment, but I have enough of them already.... :)

Best of luck selling them!

Cheers

Nick

Sent from my iPhone

On Dec 3, 2020, at 10:32, Wo Tu <wtu...@gmail.com> wrote:

I‘ve built 2 clocks using B7971. But now I dont have space for more. 

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "neonixie-l" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to neonixie-l+...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/231b9139-ea65-42d7-849c-e0041145d9can%40googlegroups.com.

[gregebert]

Did anyone in this forum get their 7971's from PolyPaks a long time ago (1970s/1980s) ? I recall they were inexpensive, and many were sold in pairs along with the socket/driver board after being scrapped from Lectrascan units.

Just curious how some of you acquired a large stash.

[Michail Wilson]

My two cents….

 

I purchased all mine via ebay.

Many good and some I was scammed.

 

The best batch I got was wrapped in old newspapers dated back to 1968.  Seller poorly packaged and several broke.   I opened the box on video camera cause I could hear the broken glass as soon as I received the box.  He refunded me for the broken ones.  I still have many of the newspaper pages.  29cent burger or 39cent cheeseburger, etc.

 

In all, I got over 100 from auctions over a 5+ year span.   Made clocks, traded, and sold most back on ebay.

 

My guess is that I paid an average of not much under $100 each.

 

Michail Wilson

206-920-6312

To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/3d5f2377-c101-48fd-a416-d26fb6cebeb6n%40googlegroups.com.

[Nick]

Mine all came from Jim Scutio at usmintquartets man years ago- several crates at under usd 20 each. he had about 900 and just wanted rid of them.

[Nicholas Stock]

900 Nick?? REALLY??

Got any you want to offload for a couple $ each? LOL.

To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/40b6bb2f-e751-4f27-83b2-8a706fa40789n%40googlegroups.com.

[Nick Andrews]

I'll give you $25 each for some of those!

To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/40b6bb2f-e751-4f27-83b2-8a706fa40789n%40googlegroups.com.

[Jeff Walton]

My first (8) came from PolyPaks or Burnstein-Applebee in 1971.  They shipped mounted in the board assembly and were wrapped up in paper.  I think that they were something like $8 for the set of two tubes.  That was the good old days, but alas, I only bought the boards with eight tubes.  My roommate an I were doing a senior college project for our EE classes.  My roommate finished his clock but I switched from the 7971s to NL-840s (CK8754) so that I could use a BCD to Decimal driver with 74141 chips.  I was lazy and didn’t want to create the font and driver circuit since there wasn’t a high voltage chip that could do the 15 segment output directly.  I was jealous of his clock for all of these years.  My tubes just sat in a box over the years of several house moves.  Fast forward to 2014 and now live happily in a MOD-SIX.   7 of the 8 tubes original survived with one tube that cracked due to the many moves over the years.

 

Jeff

 

 

From: neoni...@googlegroups.com On Behalf Of gregebert
Sent: Thursday, December 3, 2020 3:46 PM
To: neonixie-l <neoni...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [neonixie-l] Re: B7971

 

Did anyone in this forum get their 7971's from PolyPaks a long time ago (1970s/1980s) ? I recall they were inexpensive, and many were sold in pairs along with the socket/driver board after being scrapped from Lectrascan units.

To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/3d5f2377-c101-48fd-a416-d26fb6cebeb6n%40googlegroups.com.

[Charles MacDonald]

On 2020-12-03 4:45 p.m., gregebert wrote:
> Did anyone in this forum get their 7971's from PolyPaks a long time ago
> (1970s/1980s) ? I recall they were inexpensive, and many were sold in
> pairs along with the socket/driver board after being scrapped from
> Lectrascan units.

Good Old ETCO Electronics 464 McGill St. In Montreal. (store is long
gone) Only got a couple of boards, which had the fingers broken off.
and a bunch of the tubes, Forget the price but proably a couple of bucks
(CDN) each. If I could send a message back in time, I would tell my
former self to buy a few more, as well as some surplus 2A3, 6L6 and 6V6
tubes.


--
Charles MacDonald VA3CPY Stittsville Ontario
cm...@zeusprune.ca Just Beyond the Fringe
No Microsoft Products were used in sending this e-mail.

[Nick Andrews]

Yeah,  that too.  And register a whole lot of machine guns before May 1986, and file mining claims,  then patent claims to get the land transferred to me before then too. And get someone to buy me a few B-17 and B-29s right after the war.  And a few 62 Corvettes, and a Ferrari 250 or two...

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "neonixie-l" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to neonixie-l+...@googlegroups.com.

To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/a614dcee-c540-e0f5-ca12-270f3c32a7d2%40zeusprune.ca.

[Robert G. Schaffrath]

I got my first board from Poly Paks sometime in the late 1970’s. Probably paid about $4 if I recall. One tube had shorted segments. I was about 15. Then in 1979 I decided  to build a clock and bought three boards from Meshna Electronics. After I assembled that, I decided I would get spare tubes that were sold as NOS from Meshna. Bought six of them which I still have wrapped in bubble wrap. I have a total of seven in a carton along with the six in the clock. Also I still have the defective one that still lights up but has problem segments. Thinking of selling it as a novelty as it is not really useful for a clock. 

[Bill Notfaded]

Robert you might be able to bounce the tube with some padding around it and unshort the shorted segments.  It's been done before.  One trick is to tape it to a broom handle so you can force the entire tube against something like a stack of paper and get good force evenly distributed without breaking the tube.  I've heard this has been successful more times than one.  Often two segments one would overlap the other and get stuck touching it.

Bill

[Alan Woodman]

Yes, I bought some 7971 tubes from PolyPaks right after they were surplused from the NY stock exchange displays. I don't recall the price but it was likely 3 orders of magnitude cheaper. I have 4 in use presently in one of Ray Weisling's FLW displays. Was fortunate to get one of his boards from him in his island location after pestering him at length. Too bad he cheated so many other buyers. Probably because I knew Ray from my ham radio hobby when he was still living in Milwaukee, WI. btw;  one of my spare tubes has a short between 2 segments and I've read it might be curable by dumping a charged cap to clear the short. I'm not too keen on trying this but suppose I have nothing to lose. Has anyone had any success with this approach? Just recently did notice that a lower right corner segment on one of the FLW tubes may also be shorting but it's not bothersome yet. Hope it's not in the FLW circuitry. ;=(

It's been running nonstop for more than 5 years and still surprises me at times.

I've got a long history working with Nixies having lived in Japan for years during the 70s. Back then I could buy NEC CD-83P 1/2" tubes new for 10 cents each in Akahibara. Bought many hundreds and sold then at hamfests for a few years  Also supplied them to a ham radio maker on the west coast for awhile, I think it was SBE but can't find them now. Would like to get one of those radios just for the nostalgia. I used to be a member of this board before it changed over. Just rejoined today and notice they use my unmonitored Google email address so any replies should be directed to me thru this group. It's nice to see it's so active once again.  btw; I'm looking to see if Dave Forbes of his CRT clock fame is around here. I'm told he may habit this board..  

[Jeff Walton]

Don’t try to clear a mechanical short electrically.  The areas that generally short are the ends of the diagonal and vertical cathodes.  They are significantly heavier than the wire welds that attach to the pin and you will either destroy that part of the tube or possibly the backplane wires/traces that feed the cathode.  If you search the forum, there are good explanations and photos of how to mechanically separate the cathode ends that occasionally get shorted in shipping or from a mechanical shock.  You have a lot to lose if you permanently damage a valuable and salvageable tube.  If you can’t find the information, send me a message and I have photos and have successfully cleared mechanical shorts in the B7971.

 

Jeff

 

 

From: neoni...@googlegroups.com On Behalf Of Alan Woodman
Sent: Friday, December 4, 2020 10:41 PM
To: neonixie-l <neoni...@googlegroups.com>

To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/2d1dcf4e-52a7-4197-bedf-a3f0bc62dae8n%40googlegroups.com.

[Nick]

I certainly didn't buy all the 900 - I bought a few hundred, but so did others on this group - he wanted USD 20/tube - you could negotiate on bulk.

Tubes were not Jim's business - I think he acquired a warehouse for his coin business and these were in there in crates, wrapped up in old newspapers.

He just wanted them gone and shipped them out rammed into thin cardboard boxes with just the couple of sheets of newspaper between tubes - it was the same for everyone who ordered from him. He added 10% typically to compensate for losses - I had a load of shattered tubes (and the photos should you wish to cry a bit!).

Nick

[Ian Vine]

Yup. Ordered 8. Got 10 but only 8 intact. 

Wrapped in newspaper

On 6 Dec 2020, at 20:08, Nick <gerbilp...@gmail.com> wrote:

I certainly didn't buy all the 900 - I bought a few hundred, but so did others on this group - he wanted USD 20/tube - you could negotiate on bulk.

To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/e82b1552-e033-4c7c-a279-f0009d3edcb9n%40googlegroups.com.

[Ⓙⓞⓗⓝ Ⓢⓜⓞⓤⓣ]

Wasn't this guy trading as USmintquarters or similar?

John

[Nick]

Indeed - I mentioned that above.

https://nick.desmith.net/Nixies/DSCN1855.JPG 

[Jim KO5V]

That could be a picture of what I received! I think I bought three lots from that seller, and each lot had at least one broken tube - BUT, they were really cheap!